Twenty-six Chinese seamen were rescued while two others were still missing in the South China Sea when their cargo ship sank off to the northwestern tip of the Philippines on Monday.

The Panamanian-registered cargo "JIN SHAN", with 28 crew members on board, started to go down near the coast of Philippines' Ilocos Norte province on Sunday afternoon due to a leak on the crust and was completely off the sea surface at 3:00 a.m. Monday dawn, according to China's Maritime Rescue Coordinating Center (MRCC).

The ship, leaving from the Solomon islands for China's eastern Jiangsu province, called Beijing's MRCC for help as it cruised 68 nautical miles northwest of Cape Bojeador on the northern Philippines' Luzon island.

Twenty-six seamen, jumping off the sinking ship to ride on small back-up inflatable boats, were picked up by a Japanese crude vessel while the captain and a technician insisted on staying on the sinking cargo to rescue the goods.

The Japanese ship "TOWADA" was heading towards Japan and the 26saved seamen were in "very good conditions", the MRCC official said, adding that there is, however, no information concerning the missing.

Philippine coastguard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armando Balilo told Xinhua that the rescue team, including a rescue boat, a helicopter and a plane, has not found the shipwrecks or the missing crew. But he said the rescue team would extend the scale of search and pursue the Japanese vessel for more information.

Balilo said the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Huang Li, a consul with Chinese embassy in Manila, said the embassy has yet to identify the casualties and there are still no calls from the relatives.

The tides at the South China Sea near the Philippine northwestern coast are particularly high at the season, rescuers said, adding that rough weather at the sea will hamper the search efforts.

Editor: Yan